Let’s talk Diet

Everyone has a diet plan that will change your life. There is the gluten free diet, the vegan diet, the vegetarian diet, the paleo diet, the no carb diet, the low carb diet, the only carb diet. You get the idea. I admit that people’s diet choices fascinate me. I want to know about their diet choices and why they made them. I find it interesting and sometimes educational. I even love watching diet documentaries like, “What the health,” “SuperSize Me,” and “Eat for Life.” I admit I learn a lot about a lot of different things, and everyone seems to have a different belief about food.

I have my own personal ideas about food too. I will get to those shortly, but before I do let’s look quickly at God’s definition of food. We can find the answer to this question in Leviticus 11 when it comes to meat, or animals. In Leviticus 11, God explains to Moses and the children of Israel, that some animals are “clean” and some animals are “unclean.” Clean animals are FOOD, unclean animals are not food. So, the list of acceptable meat to eat is found there. If we want to know about plants we can go back to the beginning in Genesis 1:29, God gives us every seed bearing plant as food. These are the basic guidelines in the Bible of what to eat and what not to eat.

AS you can see in the verses listed God doesn’t say eat only vegetables, nor does he say don’t eat wheat, or only eat seeds and bark. So, how did we come up with all these other crazy diet ideas. The answer is simply this sin.

When man sinned not only was he cursed, causing his whole being to be dying, but the earth (ground) was also cursed. AS sin has grown and continues to grow the depravity of man worsens. This is why we have people who can’t eat wheat, or people who can’t eat dairy, or meat, or peanuts, or whatever the special diet someone needs. So, how do we know what diet is best for us.

In my personal experience, I have found I must know myself. What makes me feel strong, what makes me feel weak. What gives energy, what gives pain. What helps me think clearly, what doesn’t. There are genetic factors often involved with diet disposition. There are blood tests that can show if certain foods are causing intolerance or allergic reactions of other kinds.

OK, so now on to the hot topic. IF God gives us meat and veggies to eat, what about chemically altered foods? Does God give us those too? This is a tricky question. I have been pondering it off and on for a few years. Here is my two cents worth on this topic. I do not think God wanted man to mess with the food and change it. I think that in its most natural form food is best consumed and healthier for the body. When men mess with God’s creation, in the Bible, it usually angered Him. But, I also think that the physical body is NOT nearly as important to God as the spiritual body. Yeshua himself spoke about the very fact that it isn’t what goes in our mouth that so much matters as what comes out if it. And what comes out of the mouth is what is in the heart. So, we also read in Paul’s letters often that he, like Yeshua, tells us not to judge others by what they eat or drink. So, even though I have my own personal opinion on what is best, for me to eat, I can not say what is best for others.

Now I am going to share my personal opinions here, only because many have asked.

This week I began a 14 day detox cleanse diet. This diet is a plant based detox diet. For 14 days I am eating only fruits and veggies (except for one meal a day may contain grains). I am only drinking whole juice, coffee, and water. The reason I am detoxing is simple. I have an addiction that has gotten out of hand. What is my addition. Sugar in the form of pop and candy. I love Dr Pepper. NOw let me make this clear. I DO NOT THINK IT IS SIN TO EAT OR DRINK SUGAR. I do not think it is sin to have Dr Pepper. But I do think gluttony and addition (obsession about anything unholy) is SIN. I truly believe that to do harm knowingly to oneself is also sin. So, yep, I said it, I am a sinner.

But I do not want to remain in my sin, so it was time to stop making excuses for bad behavior and repent (turn from my sin) and move towards righteousness (right living). So that is why I am doing this detox cleanse.

Another reason I am in need of this detox is the consequences of this addiction of mine. You see for me corn, processed sugar, and processed grains cause severe inflammation. This causes arthritis and fibromyalgia symptoms to take over my bones and joints. IT causes me migraines and other symptoms as well. So, if I want ot truly be rid of these symptoms I have to change my diet and habits. I can take medication that sometimes masks the symptoms and gives a little relief here and there, but often has other side effects and issues for me to deal with. So, instead, I know what to do and that is to turn to YHVH and ask forgiveness for my sin, and stop doing it. Just like Yeshua told the adulterous woman to go and sin no more. i must take up that call too.

So, what after the 14 day detox will my diet look like. Most days it will remain a mostly fruit and veggie style diet. But the big things for me is not processed foods. NO processed meats, no processed grains, no processed drinks. I honestly should never eat corn, it will kill me one of these days, so that means no corn syrup, which is in a lot of things. Of course, my diet does not ever included pork or shellfish, so that also takes out a lot of foods in my diet.

Most of the time at our house when I am being good, our whole family only eats meat about once a week, usually on Sabbath. We eat meat for feasts and vacation, times of celebration. We have found a low meat diet helps manage both mine and Jer’s sugar and blood pressure. We prefer to only eat grass fed, local meat so we know where it comes from and is processed in a clean environment. But we don’t always have this choice available to us. We also choose to eat a low grain diet and low dairy diet. We have found that both dairy and grain when over consumed can cause us inflammation. But mostly we have found that if our food is not heavily processed with additives then we tolerate it better. LAstly, I have found that fast food is a killer for both Jeremy and I.

Now, all of that to say, if you invite our family over to dinner, we will come and dine freely. We never eat what YHVH God calls unclean, but anything else that you serve at your dinner table we will gladly came share. Because our guidelines at home are to help us stay in moderation and limit ourselves so that when it is time to celebrate and dine with others, it is all the more rewarding and enjoyable.

I have learned that moderation truly is a key in diet. So, there you have it. Hope that helps. Shalom